Don Trump Jr. warns against Marco Rubio as father’s running mate

Amid reports that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has nabbed a spot on former President Donald Trump’s vice president short list, the former president's son is warning that picking the Hispanic Republican might be a damning concession to RINOS, or Republicans in name only.

Days after the Washington Post reported that Rubio was one of the final three candidate options for Trump’s running mate, Donald Trump Jr. gave a frank assessment of the Floridian senator.

"I have a good relationship with Marco, but there's some truth about having someone that's a little more establishment in there,” Donald Trump Jr. said on his podcast , Triggered. “It's like, wouldn't the Senate RINOS, wouldn't they love that?”

The former president's son said he was worried that by picking Rubio for vice president, his father might unwittingly submit himself to the will of RINOS, who could use establishment power to impeach the former president and put Rubio in the Oval Office.

"I joked — I said that about Nikki Haley, [that] by the time my father's hand moves off the Bible in the swearing-in process, the second it moves off, it would be like, 'Impeachment!'" Donald Trump Jr. said during his podcast Monday. "There's something about having someone outside the establishment to sort of further protect you from that establishment."

“I think we don’t want to make it all that easy for them,” Donald Trump Jr. added.

Rubio, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) are the contenders widely considered to be the former president's three top picks for his running mate.

Donald Trump Jr. threw his support behind Vance during the podcast, saying, “Everyone knows I’ve been for J.D. Vance."

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. told his podcast audience that Burgum would be a better pick for secretary of energy.

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“A smart guy,” Donald Trump Jr. praised the Republican governor. “He’d make some money for America for a change.”

As speculation swirls about Donald Trump's running mate pick, Rubio has added fuel to the fire with reports he will be appearing with the president at a rally in Florida on Tuesday evening.